My 15-month year old came down with an earache this week and was prescribed Amoxicillin. I gave it to him for two days without problems, but on the third morning he broke out in a rash. The rash, at first as not red, just tiny bumps on his chest, back and legs. Later, on his stomach they became splotchy, but he still does not have a fever. The pharmacist directed me to stop the medication and give him benadryl, which I did. But he still has the rash. Now I am afraid to take my kids outside for fear that it is contagious. Could the rash be caused by something else? Anyone else have something similar happen with their kids?
Thank you, everyone who responded with their advice. It doesn't feel so scary when you hear that other Moms have gone through the same things with their kids.
My son had his rash for two days. Benadrly did not affect the rash at all, but it did help his snotty nose. I am thinking along the lines that it was a viral rash of some kid, like Rosella instead of a true allergic reaction. But his pediatrician had me discontinue the antibiotics anyhow. His cold and earache seem to b getting better on their own so I was advice to go ahead and use over the counter medication to control his symptoms.
Anyhow, Thank again to everyone who responded!
It is common for children to get a form of yeast infection while on antibiotics. They are typically red and bumpy like you describe. You may want to call the dr. back, describe it to them and see what they say. They will probably call you in a prescription for a cream (mine had a yeast infection in her diaper area and the cream they prescribed is called nystatin I think).
Hi K.,
My son (almost 3) also got a similiar rash from taking Amoxicillian and he was fine after about one week. It was not contagious, it was just an allergic reaction to the drug according to his pediatrician. We no longer use Amoxicillian, or forms of it, we have found through trial and error that Omnicef, an antibotic, works great for him.
Sounds to me like a typical case of penicillin allergy. My son was 2 when he became allergic. He'd taken Amoxicillin about half a dozen times for ear infections before he just suddenly had an allergic reaction. We took him to his pediatrician who said it was a reaction, stop the Amox, take Benadryl if it seems to be bothering him, and remember he is now allergic to penicillin (and ALL penicillin products). It took about 4-5 days for the rash to go away completely. And we've never given him penicillin again. No more rashes.
I know this is late, but, wanted to confirm, that while many said it could be 5th disease (I think that is the "slapped face" one... which is NOT bumpy on the tummy first...) kids CAN exhibit allergic reactions after being on something for a few days. My daughter did this at about 9 months after taking Omnicef for 3 1/2 days. I was stunned, b/c I had always thought that if you were allergic you broke out (or whatever the reaction) pretty much right away (within 12-24 hrs). But our doc said she is not allergic, but had a "hypersensitivity" to it... it takes a few days for the body to get enough in the system to react to it. Our daughter was put on another medication for the infection we were trying to treat, and took a prednisone type drug to counteract the allergic reaction (she started with tiny bumps on arms and belly, then red splotches came... welts were not far behind... the Dr warned us she would look bruised all over before she was fully "recovered" from it, and she did show some bruising, but not as bad as I'd heard it could be.)... Don't discount that she could in fact have a reaction after being on it for several days...
it is possible that your little one has had a reaction to the medicine - but it is also possible that he has chicken pox. Call your pediatrician and tell him/her about the rash. does the baby itch? is it only on his chest and leg area - or has it spread?
my son broke out in hives one day - just out of nowehere. he had them on his feet and arms, chest, back, neck - pretty much his entire body. i took him to the pedi thinking something terrible and found out it was jush hives. it took a couple of days for the hives to go away. i gave him baths in an oatmeal mixture for babies to stop the itching. he now takes zyrtec to help combat the problem. my niece gets hives too. she uses benadryl - but it takes a day or so for the hives to go under.
Hi K.,
From the experience that I have had, the rash is most likely not contagious. My youngest (now 1 1/2) gets a rash after having a virus. At one point it was in her scalp & face and it was obviously itching her. Per our doctor, I gave her Benadryl for her own comfort. The rash went away on its own in about 4 days. I also have an older daughter & she never had any rash or symptoms during that time. Hopefully this helps you out.
Was he running a high fever (102-103 or higher) the few days before the rash? If so, it could be Roseola. One of my twin boys had been running a fever back in January. No other real symptoms, just REALLY cranky, crabby, clingy & not eating well. A few days after the rash he broke out in a rash on his belly & back. Turns out he had Roseola. He was SO much better after the rash appeared. Good luck. Hope he is feeling better soon.
This just happened to my girlfriends 7 year old son. Your son is not contagious! It is an allergic reaction to the amoxicillin. It took him about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks to fully clear up. She went through all the steps of getting him tested. The Allergist told her that he is not allergice to amoxicillin however this was an allergy rash and he can take it again, and there is a big chance that he will never have an allergic reaction again. He said it's just one of those things that you can't explain why it happend, it just happend!. Don't worry, it looks alot worse than it really is. No one else can get it. Hope this helps!
Good Luck!!
I am a sahm of a 4 year old girl and a 6 month old boy. I went through something like that with my daughter years ago and am currently going through it with my son. have you had him checked out for anything other than the ear ache? I just had my son checked out and he has a virus that is like coxicelia (something like that) it is very common in children under the age of 2 and according to my pediatrician, children of that age group that live in florida get this virus usually at least 2-4 times a year. It consists of small blisters in the back of the throat (kind of hard to see) and it makes the child very cranky and achy. It also breaks down their immune system... and often your child will end up with ear aches (my child has one in both ears.) anyway, he also has a rash that looks a little similar to heat rash.... (small bumps and a little red) my pediatrician said that it is his body trying to push out the virus and is common with this virus. It should clear up in 8-10 days. I don't know if that is what your child has, but it sounds so similar. and Amoxicillian is a antiboitic, which may be causing the body to fight the virus, and there for creating the rash. Just a thought. Hope this helps.
it could be rosiola... which is a common thing kids get. i would take him to a drs office just to be sure or could be scarlett fever which is a rash the get during strep sometime without any signs of strep or fever...or at least that's what happened to my son he was fine except for a strange rash so i took him to the dr. and they said it was scarlett fever.
~L.~
Hi, this is the same way I found out that my daughter was allergic to amoxicillan. The doctor gave her a different drug to finish clearing up the ear infection, Zythromax I think. The rash is not contagious, just looks bad. My daughter was 3 1/2 when she got it. She said it was not ichy or sore. It did take a while to go completely away though, about a month! The stuff on her legs and arms went away pretty quickly, but the splotches on her belly took the longest. Hope this helps!
I am allergic to amoxicillin and I broke out in a rash that lasted a while. I am no doctor but would probably say it is the medicine. I have always been directed to avoid any cillins because they can cause the same thing.
S.
My now 16 mo got the SAME THING 1 mo ago!! I took him to dr after dr and they all "assumed" it's reaction to the penicillin in the augmentin or amox. On the 5th day, it started to disappear; which sounds like "fifth disease" as I read on webmd.com
It's gone now. Dr's said that I should now say that my son's allergic to penecillin if ever asked if he has any medical allergies.
I'm thinking to take him to an allergist.
Dear K.,
My son (and I) have had it all. It is very common to get a rash after an illness with fever. We just had Fifth's Disease but it could just be something like Roseola. Unless your son is obviously uncomfortable and itchy, I wouldn't worry about it too much except his pediatrician should know about it. Good luck.K.
yep, the same thing happened to my son. he has only taken it once, about the same age as your son. It takes a few days for the rash to go away and he continued to go to daycare because it is not contagious. It also doesn't automatically mean that he is allergic to penicillin, but it is definatley a possiblility. My pediatrician said that if he needed an antibiodic in the future, we would stay away from penicillin based until he was older. No worries! he will be fine. Just keep an eye out for signs the ear infection is coming back. My son managed to go 7 out of the 10 days on it before his rash broke, so the doctor was sure he would be fine. If your son only took it for two days, that would worry me a little. Good luck!
I would not remove Amoxicillan from the child's meds yet.. Amoxicillan has one of the safest profiles of any antibitioc. An allergic reaction is swelling (like of the throat) and/or itching starting on the palms or chest. Harmless body rash can be a side effect of Amoxicillin, and it has typically been associated with taking amoxicillan at the same time as a viral infection. I believe the reaction is limited to specific viruses too, if you are able to find the references online but I don't think they would be very helpful since you do not know what virus your child had.
It is good to stop the medication immediately, to rule it out as a possible danger. If you are concerned about an allergy, then next time you give your child amoxicillan you could do it at the doctors office and wait for 30 minutes. If it gives an allergic reaction they will validate it and in case it is a severe reaction they can treat it. Generally allergic reactions happen almost immediately and not after a day or two. (Note: I am _not_ a doctor)
Hi K.,
It sounds to me like you need to take her back to the pediatrician and explain what is going on so they can give her the correct medicines.
Good luck
We just went through this with my 5 year old on friday. She had been taking Amoxicilin for a week for strep throat and woke up friday with what I thought was a rash. By the time we went to our appt at 3:15 - it was everywhere really bad! She is allergic to amoxicillin and took benadryl for two days and as of today everything is just about gone.
S. Gallo
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It sounds like Roseola. My daughter had that a couple of times after breaking a fever or being sick. Benedryl wont do anything for it and I would continue to give the antibiotic or the ear infection is not going to go away. It is only contagious to kids under 2. I would still check with your doctor to be safe but it sounds like thats what it is. Hope this helps!
